I know that science is true.
I know that Covid 19 is everywhere.
I know that washing hands and staying away from crowds will slow the spread.
I know that wearing masks when you do go out will protect others.
I know that spending extended months away from friends and family is hard.
I know we’re all experiencing Covid fatigue.
I know we’re feeling constrained, our personal rights being trampled.
I know we’re feeling sad and overwhelmed and frustrated and tired of it all.
And I know we want it to just go away like the President has promised it will.
But that’s not the truth.
We haven’t turned a corner, we aren’t out of the woods, it’s not going away.
There isn’t a magical cure available for anyone to use.
I know there is no end in sight, that the numbers of cases and deaths will continue to rise.
I know that unless people begin to care for each other and respect the science we are stuck with no hope but a vaccine that might come next year.
I know the vaccine, even when it’s ready, won’t be easy to administer to every American.
I know that some people won’t want to take a vaccine pushed through the approval process.
I know that 218,000 people have died of Covid related illness in the US alone.
I know that because one of those people was a family member of mine.
I know that hundreds of thousands of families are strugling with those deaths.
I know that spouses and children and grandchildren and friends are all experiencing deep grief.
And I know it didn’t have to be this way.
I know that I will always place blame on the leaders of our country for not putting together a national plan, for dismantling the process that was already in place, for lying and offering false hope.
I know that blaming doesn’t fix the problem and blaming doesn’t make the pain go away.
But I know that those 218,000 people who lost their lives deserve to be honored, and the countless hundreds of thousands of people left with dilbaitating illness after suffering the disease will need help.
I know that our country is up to the task.
I know that we can look beyond ourselves and do what has to be done.
I know that we can see family in zoom meetings, send virtual hugs for as long as it takes.
I know that we can wear the darn mask.
Because this is the America I know. The strong yet empathetic country that can accomplish anything.
The country I know can come back from the brink of destruction.
I know we can turn this around.
I know this is true.
Change Is Hard 
October 17, 2020 at 7:16 pm
Honoring all those who have died including your loved one. May we have that strong but compassionate country. I am glad you wrote what is true.
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October 18, 2020 at 4:49 pm
Thank you Kathy.
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October 17, 2020 at 7:34 pm
I haven’t heard any lies coming from President Trump about COVID-19 or anything else. However, given the Hunter Biden email issue there appears to be plenty of lies coming from the Democratic Party through the Bidens.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m a registered Democrat and I have been for decades. However, the persistent slander against the Trump administration coming from Democrats over the past four years is inappropriate. It makes the Democratic Party look bad.
That is what I know is true.
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October 18, 2020 at 4:50 pm
I could probably find any number of links listing lies about Covid, but I won’t. It’s not my objective to argue with anyone. We all have a right to our opinion.
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October 17, 2020 at 7:40 pm
Through out our countries history we have been fighting off the different plagues, small pox and polio in the past. Our country is strong we will come back from this like we always have and someday there will be a cure. Remember how we all felt helpless when AIDS first was heard about and now we rarely hear about it. I am so tired of the isolation I feel like I live 100s of miles from everyone. I know someday there will be a cure or a shot to prevent it but it can’t be rushed research takes time and lots of scientist working on it at the same time. At least we are fighting this in 2020 and not 1820.
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October 18, 2020 at 4:51 pm
Yes, it’s hard to be so isolated for so long. And yes I remember AIDS and other times the country was under seige. We will get through it, but it would go easier if everyone participated instead of arguing about their personal freedoms.
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October 17, 2020 at 8:39 pm
You speak truth!
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October 18, 2020 at 4:51 pm
Thank you. It’s certainly my truth.
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October 17, 2020 at 8:53 pm
Agreed.
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October 17, 2020 at 9:13 pm
I always get a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach when I post something that should not be controversial, but because of the ultra-divisive politics in this country is very controversial. It is hard, and some of the comments occasionally prove that bad feeling correct. If you felt that way as you clicked “Publish”, just know that I for one appreciate the post 🙂 Thank you for writing and posting it.
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October 18, 2020 at 10:21 am
Thank you Trent. Yes, there is a moment of consideration, isn’t there, when one writes something like this. But people are dying. Someone in my family died. This isn’t nearly as angry as I really feel, it’s a compromise. People will have whatever reaction they have.
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October 18, 2020 at 10:27 am
I am sorry that one of your family members died. A couple of my family members have been very sick, but all survived.
The amount of misinformation is just astounding. You have every right to be angry.
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October 17, 2020 at 10:18 pm
Dawn, Thanks for this – I really needed it. You really put a lot of thought into it and covered all the bases. It is shocking to think of all the millions of people who are feeling just the same way as each other. Thank you for writing about the truth of our existence and the hope that is truly there for us all. It is inspiring. Judie
Sent from my IPhone Judith Lee Stone 15 2nd Street NE Washington DC. 20002 202-277-6192 Judie@jlstone.us
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October 18, 2020 at 4:53 pm
We have to hope. I just wish everyone was committed to doing whatever needs to be done to beat this down. There’s nothing like the loss of someone close to make you realize, if you didn’t already, how serious this still is.
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October 17, 2020 at 11:04 pm
Heartbreaking! Very sorry to read about the family member who died of Covid-19.
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October 18, 2020 at 4:53 pm
Thank you.
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October 18, 2020 at 6:04 am
I am so sorry to hear of your loss, Dawn. Thank you for your heartfelt post.
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October 18, 2020 at 4:53 pm
Thank you, and you are welcome.
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October 18, 2020 at 8:46 am
This is all so true. Thank you.
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October 18, 2020 at 4:53 pm
You are welcome.
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October 18, 2020 at 8:58 am
Hear, hear. Well said. I keep coming back to “dismantling the process that was already in place, for lying and offering false hope.” That alone is horrifying, let alone all the rest of it. How could they be so arrogant and hateful?
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October 18, 2020 at 4:54 pm
That’s what bothers me, that there was a pandemic team that was disassembled. That there were things in place to midigate something like this that weren’t warrented valuable enough to keep. And now regular people are paying the price.
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October 18, 2020 at 11:10 am
Oh, NO! Somebody in your family died from COVID complications?? How sorry I am to hear of your loss, Dawn. It’s one thing to convince ourselves that COVID is for some unknown stranger out there; it’s another thing when it hits close to home, through family or friends. This is a scary disease. Seems the least we can do is wear a mask, wash our hands often, and avoid large gatherings; yet people are tired of all that and seem to think it will just “go away” on its own. I’m sad that we haven’t learned a thing from past calamities like this, and I’m ashamed that we haven’t done a better job of managing them. It’s not like we’re a Third World country, for Pete’s sake!
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October 18, 2020 at 4:55 pm
You’d think. We lost my brother-in-law, and husband and I both contracted COVID. We had light symptoms so we were lucky. But not so lucky in the family member loss.
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October 18, 2020 at 6:22 pm
I’m so sorry. I imagine we’ll all have lost somebody — either a relative or a friend — before this thing winds down.
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October 18, 2020 at 11:53 am
I felt your pain and anger as I read this post. I am confounded by the lack of compassion evident for the over 200,000 people and their families who have died in America. I don’t care what your political leanings are, the fact remains that people are in pain, they are suffering and there is a grief beyond the loss of loved ones. These are neighbours, community members, fellow human beings. Everyone one of them – and you and me – deserve compassion. I am so, so sorry for your loss, Dawn. Keep well.
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October 18, 2020 at 4:57 pm
Thank you. It has become obvious as the years of this administration have progressed that regular people don’t really matter in the current scheme of things. And certainly people who have any sort of disadvantage are totally ignored, if not belittled. It’s certainly time for change.
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October 18, 2020 at 3:27 pm
I am so sorry that you lost a family member to covid. We have a good friend whose husband died …she was tested and was negative…the Doctors said it was a miracle that she didn’t get it. Yes we need something on a National Level to deal with this Pandemic and others that may come after this one.
Stay safe out there…I have read that you can get it twice and even three times as the virus is mutating:(
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October 18, 2020 at 4:58 pm
It’s definitely a miracle that she didn’t get it. We got it from a brother-in-law who lived with us for a week after getting out of the hospital. He didn’t survive, we both contracted it and were lucky to have symptoms not so bad. I’ve been reading we might get it again and it might be worse if we do, so we will continue to be careful.
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October 18, 2020 at 8:37 pm
Dawn I am so sorry to read that your brother in law died. How tragic, really. I am glad you and your husband came through it, but I can imagine that was scary in itself. I thought of you when I read the paper yesterday and saw that Trump is trying to push through extending the hours truck drivers can be on the road. Just reading it made my blood boil, thinking of how hard you worked on that legislation. I long for the day when this country will return to sense of normal, it seems between the pandemic and the politics the world has gone mad. Thank you for this post. Your words ring true.
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October 21, 2020 at 1:44 pm
I don’t know if we will ever see normal as it once was. The damage is so great and times have moved along. I’d just like to return to civility. And to limiting the amount of time a truck driver can drive between rest breaks of course.
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October 19, 2020 at 7:17 am
There is a great deal of truth in what you wrote. It is so disheartening. I am so sorry to hear about your brother in law and about your own struggle with it. It is very real and I am losing patience with those who doubt its reality. Please take care and thanks for this post.
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October 21, 2020 at 1:44 pm
You’re welcome Beth Ann. Bruce and I are a lot better, almost 100%. We were so lucky not to have difficult symptoms. Still it IS scary because it feels so random.
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October 24, 2020 at 9:28 am
I thought I had commented on this post but it appears I didn’t. I am so sorry, Dawn, for your loss. I see in the comments that you and your husband are better, and I’m grateful for that. I don’t understand our country anymore. And I’m thankful there are people like you in it. Rest, be well, and keep speaking your truth.
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October 24, 2020 at 12:02 pm
Thank you Robin. It was and is hard. Husband is still working on his house, that we were fixing up for him. Now it’s being fixed up to sell and it’s just so wrong that he won’t get to see the stuff he picked out in his home.
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